Mental health workforce grows 26%

The number of specialist psychiatrists and mental health nurses working in New Zealand has grown by over 26 per cent since the election of the Labour-led government, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said today.

Figures released by the Minister show that the number of mental health nurses has grown by 27 per cent, while the number of specialist psychiatrists is up by 16 per cent since 2000.

"Mental illness and addiction will at some time affect most New Zealand families," Pete Hodgson said.

"A failure to invest in the mental health workforce in the 1990s led to increased pressure on services and a failure to deliver quality care for New Zealanders in need.

"The Labour-led government has worked with the mental health community to re-invest in services and improve support for New Zealanders with mental illness. We've increased the government's investment in mental health by 75 per cent since 2000 – this year we will invest $999 million in mental health services.

"It's clear that this historic investment is making a difference. While we still have a lot of work to do, it's encouraging to see our mental health workforce growing so strongly."

The figures released by Pete Hodgson today show:

• The number of mental health nurses working in the public health system has grown from 3,194 to 4,064 since 2000 – a 27 per cent increase
• In 2004 (most recent data available) the number of specialist psychiatrists reached 318 – an increase of 16 per cent

Pete Hodgson cautioned that the overall mental health workforce is much wider, and includes social workers, counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists, consumer advisors, peer support workers, dual diagnosis workers, support workers, family/whanau support and health promoters.

On Tuesday, the Minister released Te Kokiri – a ten-year action plan for mental health and addiction services. The plan focuses on providing earlier access to mental health and addiction services and calls for stronger linkages between primary and specialist health services.